Character AnalysisEnglish Language Arts2011

What is a character?• Characters are the people or animals who take

part in a literary work• They can be round, flat, dynamic or static.

• Elaine never cuts anybody a break. She tells her friends and coworkers that charity and compassion have no place in society. On the other hand, Elaine can never pass up feeding a stray kitten or puppy, and always tries to find a good home for lost or abandoned pets.

Round Character• A well developed

character who exhibits a variety of traits.

Dynamic Characters

• A character which changes during the course of a story or novel. The change in outlook or character is permanent. Sometimes a dynamic character is called a developing character.

• Ebenezer Scrooge, in A Christmas Carol by Dickens, was very stingy with his money. He worked his employees very hard for little pay. After his experiences with the ghosts that visited him, he changed his ways, paying his employees a more than fair wage, providing days off work and actually giving gifts.

• In a story about a friendly teacher named Sandra Smith, Louis is a security guard in her building. Louis is always tired and grumpy whenever Sandra runs across him and says hello.

Flat Character A character who reveals only one, maybe two, personality traits in a story or novel, and the trait(s) do not change.

Identifying a character

Ask yourself the following questions:• In what ways are this character’s background and

experiences similar to and different from mine?

• What background or experiences influence the way this character behaves?

• Bert, a bumbling salesman, never takes the time to organize his files, properly record his sales, or follow up with customers. Finally, his boss gets fed up and fires him. Bert struggles for two months to find a new sales position. During that time, his car is repossessed for nonpayment and he maxes out his credit cards. Bert finally finds a new sales position but, before a week passes, he is called into a conference with his new boss. Bert is informed he must get organized or he’ll be fired. A week later the new boss fires Bert after he fails to follow up with an important customer.

Static Character

A character that remains the same. Events in the story do not alter a static characters outlook, personality, habits or motivation.

Four ways a character is revealed….

• 1. By what he says• 2. By what he does• 3. By what is said to him• 4. By what is said about him

Character Analysis….

• In a character analysis you study the conflicts a character faces and the unique character traits a character possesses.• Conflicts fall into one of four

categories….

Person vs. Person • A struggle between this character and others. It

doesn’t have to be just one person.

Person vs. Nature• This can be weather, natural elements, dealing

with natural disasters, storms, etc.

Person vs. Himself • A character struggles with issues of right and

wrong, morality, and decisions.

Person vs. Society • This struggle with commonly accepted principles

of society and government. For example, whether or not to go to war, customs or values in a society, going against public opinion on controversial issues.